'nother newb

[ItsTurboTime]

Bottom line is that I want to know if you guys think my chances of becoming a Marine Corps pilot are good or bad. Naturally I'm aiming for jets. Ok here's my story:

I'm a 21 year old male graduating in May with a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Grove City College (It's small, so you probably havent heard of it, but Barron's ranks it in the top 65 most competitive colleges/U's in the nation). I'm an Eagle Scout, bla accomplishments bla, I play rugby, and while I can't pass a pft yet you can bet your ass I'll be in shape. I have enough flight aptitude study material to keep me busy for a long while. I am very willing to work.

Where do you see me running into problems? How tough is it to get that spot reserved in flight school? It's so hard to believe everything you hear from the OSO, even though he flies harriers, but I'm looking for other opinions. Should I worry more about cutting it in flight school than getting in?

Thanks guys
-Jon

 

[skidkid]

Where to start.

Pass the PFT? as in cant get a 200? If so your application will be dead in the water until that is remedied.

Why is it hard to believe things from the OSO? Integrity is pretty important and he isnt going to blow sunshine up your @ss. Im guessing he wont be talking to you much unitl you fix that PFT.

Work hard get good grades and you should be competitive. Assuming youa re medically qualified and do well on the test an air contract shouldnt be hard to get.

search this site for answers then ask more
god luck

 

[phrogpilot73]

Where do you see me running into problems? How tough is it to get that spot reserved in flight school? It's so hard to believe everything you hear from the OSO, even though he flies harriers, but I'm looking for other opinions. Should I worry more about cutting it in flight school than getting in?

First, the big place I see you running into problems is your comment about "I can't pass a PFT yet, but you can bet I'm going to be in shape"... Baby steps my man. Pass a PFT first, then work to get a higher score. And remember, this is coming from a guy who consistently can only get a second class PFT score. If you can't pass though, the minimum is the minimum for a reason.

Second, don't even THINK about flight school until you're done with OCS and TBS. Again, baby steps. Get through each wicket required, then worry about the future wickets. The only time you should think about flight school during TBS (and I don't know about OCS, because I'm a boat schooler) is during night land nav. Then you should think about flight school enough to wear goggles. Trust me on that one, I got a HUGE scare when I walked into a tree limb. But that's the only time you should worry about flight school until you're IN flight school.

 

[winger]

:icon_nav_

 

[ItsTurboTime]

This is what I need to hear. Keep it coming.

I understand what I need to do to get my PFT score up and I'm doing it every day.

Why am I skeptical of the OSO? Well, because people who don't know anything at all have told me to be. That's why I'm here. That and everything he has told me I have liked.

I have MEPS coming up in a few weeks. That'll be one thing out of the way. I'll feel better when I know there isn't anything physically holding me back that I can't do something about.

 

[phrogpilot73]

Why am I skeptical of the OSO? Well, because people who don't know anything at all have told me to be. That's why I'm here. That and everything he has told me I have liked.

Those people probably haven't dealt with an officer recruiter before, and are only accustomed to dealing with enlisted recruiters. It's a totally different beast. OSOs will generally be honest with you, because it is so competitive to become an officer. Enlisted recruiters (and trust me, I'm not bad mouthing them - I obviously went through one as a young high school student) generally are more concerened about "mission" because it's a bit harder on the enlisted side. With that pressure removed, the OSOs are generally honest people...

Correct me if I'm wrong guys...

 

[jamnww]

Why am I skeptical of the OSO? Well, because people who don't know anything at all have told me to be. That's why I'm here. That and everything he has told me I have liked.

Like Phrog said, one thing at a time...get in then TBS then worry about flight school. But thats not why I am writing. Believing what your OSO tells you largely depends on your OSO so I am not going to tell you to take it as the gosple or to doubt it completely. What you need to do is to ask questions, and keep asking questions. Ask about the process, ask about the boards, ask about OCS, and ask your OSO about his experiences. As long as you can get the PFT up then talking to your OSO will help alot down the road. There are some great OSOs out there who fight for their candidates tooth and nail trying to help them out but unfortunately there are also a few out there who will just as soon as do the least about of work possible. Asking questions will not only show interest in learning about the entire process and what your OSO thinks but will also prevent the second situation from happening. Don't be too concerned though because most of the OSOs are decent.

Take everything you hear from others (other candidates that is) with a grain of salt. More often then not what was true 6 months ago is not completely true now and circumstances may have changed. Besides they are rarely told everything that is happening. If you have any questions feel free to ask...

 

[ItsTurboTime]

Everyone who knows him has said very good things about him and that he is an honest guy. So I feel good about that anyway. One thing at a time then.

 

[gringo]

I know your OSO he's a good guy. He's got some good stories too. I went to OCC 190 through him. I didn't last cuz i have stress fractures. If you have any questions let me know.

 

[nocal80]

I would say your major areas of concern would be to get as strong a pft as possible, like skid and phrog said, and then take and pass the ASTB. With a good PFT and a passing ASTB score, I would say your chances of getting a flight contract are pretty good, even if your grades aren't that great. As far as trusting your OSO goes, of course read everything before you sign it, but generally they have no reason to mislead you. They need air guys and they're not going to sugarcoat what you have to go through at OCS and TBS because its a waste of their time if you drop out after you get there because you didn't know what you were getting into. Ok, maybe they sugarcoat TBS a little bit(i.e. 'it's kind of like a college atmosphere' is one description I heard) but definetly not OCS. The only widespread misleading by OSO's I have heard of is regarding giving guys air contracts when they wanted ground and telling them it would be easy to switch at TBS, and this obviously does not apply to you. good luck.